over the past ten years, 18,000 americans wounded in iraq and afghanistan have been treated here. critical care nurse rosemary ettinger is inspired by their spirit and determination. >> young soldiers, all they want to do is get better to get back to their troops. >> reporter: a scandal broke out for poor housing conditions for outpatients which led to improved care military wise. and where do the wounded go now? the more seriously injured will be moved to a new high-tech rehab center at bethesda naval hospital. and what happens to walter reed? the 113 acres here is prime real estate. the city of washington gets most of it for commercial development and housing. even a center for the homeless. >> but the colonel is confident the legacy of walter reed will live on. >> once you've been at walter reed, you can't get walter reed out of you. it's a part of your spirit. >> walter reed closing its doors officially in about a month and will shift its operations to a new facility that will be called walter reed national medical center with campuses in maryland and virginia. >>> still ahead